Join TwelfthMan now!

Sunday's best for Parry

For Manchester City fan and emerging England spinner Stephen Parry, Sunday is a day he will likely not forget in a hurry.

As the Lancashire tweaker was marking his debut with three wickets, which would earn him the man-of-the-match award, his beloved football team were in the midst of a 3-1 win over Sunderland in the League Cup final.

A dream occasion was then topped off as England levelled the three-match one-day international series versus West Indies by eventually chasing 160 after a mid-innings wobble.

"It is a day I will never forget," enthused Parry to ecb.co.uk. "I was really happy to get the call-up and I just wanted to make the most of it.

"I didn't think it would go like it did! I was just trying to go for as few runs as possible. But I managed to pick a few wickets up.

"Things went my way and it was a really enjoyable day. With Man City winning, it tops it all off."

So did he keep track of the day's other big game while on the field?

"I had my iPhone out in the field," he joked. "No, when I was bowling, I forgot about it but, when I was in the field, I kept wondering how they were going on.

"The masseuse, Bob, is a big (Manchester) United fan so he put his arm around me and said, 'When you came on to bowl, Sunderland took the lead'.

"I said, 'We didn't lose did we?' and he said, 'No, you won 3-1'. I was really happy and when we managed to win, it topped the day off."

There was still more joy to come, however, as Parry was handed the match award.

"I was just happy with the debut to be honest but to get the man-of-the-match award, I was obviously over the moon," he enthused.

"I have very proud parents and it was nice that I have managed to reward them for the efforts they have put into me over the years, with shipping me around the country to play cricket when I couldn't drive."

After such a fine showing, it is difficult to imagine Parry suffering from any pre-match nerves. He tells it differently, though.

"I was nervous," he admitted. "I just wanted to get that first ball out (of the way). I just kept telling myself it's no different to any other game I've played.

"I was just thinking if I do my job well then hopefully I'll get rewarded."

Get rewarded he did, starting with Lendl Simmons, eyeing a second successive six, holing out to Ben Stokes at deep midwicket.

He said: "I was like, 'Please catch it Stokesy, please catch it'. He is a great fielder and I was just glad he was underneath it.

"I had bowled a few dots and I knew he was going to go for me... and he got me. But he went for it again and it was a nice victory. A six-and-out is always a nice victory."

'Victory' was the operative word on Sunday for a man who saw everything fall into place, both in the Caribbean and back home.